More than one-third of cardiologists have a family net worth of $5 million or more in 2026, and that share is growing, according to Medscape’s “Cardiologist Wealth & Debt Report 2026: Is the Rising Net Worth Tide Carrying Your Boat?”
The report, published Aug. 7, 2026, is based on a survey of physicians conducted by Medscape in late 2025.
Here are 10 things to know from the report:
1. Cardiologists’ net worth is climbing. Thirty-five percent of cardiologists reported a family net worth of $5 million or more in 2026, up from 29% in Medscape’s 2024 Cardiologist Wealth & Debt Report. The share reporting a net worth below $500,000 fell to 12%, from 18% two years earlier.
2. Cardiology ranks third among specialties for high net worth. Radiology and orthopedics topped the list, each with 39% of practitioners reporting a net worth of $5 million or more. Cardiology followed at 35%, with anesthesiology (31%) and plastic surgery (29%) completing the top five. Specialties built around high-reimbursement procedures tend to cluster at the top of the wealth rankings, while primary care specialties lag.
3. Retirement accounts remain cardiologists’ biggest source of wealth. Retirement accounts made up 38% of cardiologists’ net worth, followed by homes and other real estate (28%) and financial investments outside retirement accounts (18%). Cash accounts accounted for 8%, personal property accounted for 3% and education savings accounted for 3%. The average U.S. household draws 34% of net worth from retirement accounts and 29% from real estate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
4. Optimism about the stock market has nearly doubled. Forty-eight percent of cardiologists expect their investment portfolio to grow this year, up sharply from the 29% who said the same in the 2024 report. Thirty-one percent expect their portfolio to stay stable and 20% expect a decline.
5. More cardiologists are boosting retirement contributions than cutting them. Among cardiologists who changed their savings habits in 2025, 17% put proportionately more into tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s, compared with 6% who put in less, while 77% held steady with their contributions.
6. Inflation is cardiologists’ top financial worry. Nearly two-thirds of cardiologists rated inflation a 4 or 5 on Medscape’s 5-point concern scale, higher than their concern about the overall direction of financial markets or interest rates.
7. Most cardiologists are satisfied about how their family manages money. More than half of cardiologists credited their family with managing their overall finances “very well” or “well,” roughly in line with physicians overall.
8. Mortgages remain cardiologists’ biggest ongoing expense. Fifty-six percent of cardiologists are paying a mortgage on their primary residence, followed by a car loan (27%), credit card debt (23%) and their own remaining college or medical school loans (21%). Nineteen percent carry a car lease and 18% have a mortgage on a second home. Seventeen percent said they carry none of the listed expenses or debts.
9. Financial losses were less common than two years ago. Fifteen percent of cardiologists reported losing money on bad investments or in the stock market over the past year, down from 22% in the 2024 report. Sixty-nine percent reported no financial losses of any kind in the past year, and Medscape said cardiologists were “a bit more likely” than in 2024 to report escaping the year with no significant losses.
10. Mortgage balances are climbing, and fewer cardiologists are in the clear. Thirty-five percent of cardiologists carry a primary-residence mortgage balance of $500,000 or more. About 40% have a mortgage balance under $100,000, a fully paid-off mortgage or no mortgage at all, down from 55% two years earlier, suggesting more cardiologists are carrying larger balances than before. Nationally, the average mortgage balance is about $258,000, up from about $242,000 in the second quarter of 2023.
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